The B & O Railroad

The B and O Railroad. , Star City on Track , Over the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a growing number of factories opened in Morgantown and the surrounding area. The Fairmont, Morgantown, and Pennsylvania (FM&P) Railroad was the first completed in Monongalia County, with construction completed in 1886. The trains serving Star City were operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as part of the FM&P Railroad subdivision., Access to the World , The FM&P railroad was a key player in transporting goods for the local factories and coal mines. Products and materials were loaded and offloaded directly from railroad cars at factories and mines along the tracks. Passengers also regularly travelled using the rail line. Destinations ranged from across the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh with connections throughout the United States. The FM&P added a Star City station only after local factories were well-established., The World Comes to Star City , Many of the area's residents welcomed the railroad's arrival, but some feared industrialization and change. In his 1885 speech celebrating Morgantown's centennial anniversary, Senator Waitman T. Willey said "our society will be broken.", End of the Line? , With the growing popularity of automobile travel in the mid-20th century, fewer passengers chose to use the railroads. Consequently, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began consolidating its holdings and focusing on freight transport. In 1963, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad acquired the B&O and its subdivisions, including the FM&P, to create the "Chessie System". In 1987, the B&O Railroad merged with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and in the 2000s found new life as the Mon River Rail-Trail., (Captions):, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge During the Flood of 1888, Morgantown, W. Va. (1888) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Source: Monongalia Historical Society - West Virginia History OnView, Company L Leaving Morgantown for Mobilization, Morgantown, W. Va. (1917) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Creator Scott Gibson Source: Ruby LePera - West Virginia History OnView, Baltimore and Ohio Locomotive, Morgantown, W. Va. (1906) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Creator: Scott Gibson Source: Ruby LePera - West Virginia History OnView, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot, Morgantown, W. Va. (1894) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Source: Morgantown Bicentennial Commission - West Virginia History OnView, Willey, Waitman T. of Morgantown, W. Va. (1811-1900) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Source: Unknown - West Virginia History OnView, Baltimore and Ohio Passenger Train, Morgantown, W. Va. (1940-1950) , West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries , Source: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company - West Virginia History OnView